Lily Luna Potter: The Hallows
by PenPusher95
Summary: Lily is seventeen: an adult about to enter her last year of study. Her parents have her life mapped out for her. Of course, Lily has other ideas? Can she stay true to herself, and her fiancé? Can she possibly stay sane, with the pressure of exams and her friends causing havoc around her? Can she survive a plot which threatens to bring her world crashing down around her?
1. Promises and Protestations

Lily Luna Potter

The Hallows

Chapter 1  
Promises and Protestations

" So... how long have we been led out here?" Lily asked softly, staring up at the night sky. She'd lost count of the amount of times she'd led at night, whether on her own or with select company, gazing up at the stars as they twinkled their hellos at her. As a little girl, her Father had told her that all the loved ones that weren't with them any more were watching over her, keeping her safe and out of harms reach. It was lovely, to feel protected, watched, guarded. It was nothing more than a fairytale to her now; she was never sure whether it was more for her Dad's benefit than for hers.  
" A couple of hours." Sander whispered gently in her ear. His breath tickled her and she giggled softly as he kissed the top of her head. " We'll have to get back inside in a bit, though." Lily started to moan, but Sander leant up on his elbow and kissed her squarely on the lips. " No moaning. You have packing to do."  
" God... please don't remind me." Lily sat up, and sighed, rubbing her forehead. She was starting to get a headache. Sander wrapped an arm around her shoulder tightly, inviting her to tell him more. He was good at that. He had a way of making her talk without inquiring, or pushing her. " I'm not sure what we're going back to. You've heard the rumours, Sander..."  
" Yes. _Everyone_ has. But that's all they are, darling. They're just rumours. Nothing more." He kissed the side of her head and she closed her eyes, allowing him to wrap his arms around her tighter. She never felt more safe when she was with him. That had been the case since they were kids. Even before they were officially an item, he looked out for her: more than any of the stars her Dad had talked about had done. They'd been best friends for so long and the relationship that followed felt so natural. They were meant to be. She was sure of it. " We have an amazing year ahead of us, Head Girl. And I'll be right at your side, holding your hand. We're going to have an amazing last year, and we'll be doing it together. Even if you do have a spot on the top table and I'm left on the Gryffindor table."  
" Oi! I'd never _leave _you anywhere, or in any which way." Lily grinned up at him, but the smile soon fade as Sander rose to his feet. His eyes stayed locked with hers and she frowned softly. " We still have loads of time until we have to go in. Sander?"  
" Come here. I want to show you something." Lily placed his hand in his and he helped her to her feet. Silently, Sander kept held of Lily's hand and led her away from the blanket and even further away from the house. Lily didn't protest, despite being confused. What on earth was he up to? " Stand here. Watch this." Sander placed Lily on an exact spot, under the branches of the old oak tree that they had explored and played under as children. Sander stood behind her, one hand around her waist, and one arm reaching over her shoulder. " Watch." It took Lily a second or two to notice that Sander was pointing his wand at the night sky. In an instant, the stars had gone. Lily gasped.  
" _Sander_..."  
" Watch." He insisted again. Lily folded her arms. What reason did he have for erasing the stars? Deciding to humour him, Lily focussed on the sky. He was writing something. With his wand, Sander was writing something in the night sky. He finally finished, wrapping his other arm tight around her waist as she started to decipher the message he'd left her.  
" Lily Luna Potter." Lily read aloud. " I love you. Will you..." Lily trailed off as she felt Sander's arms fall away from her waist. " Will you marry me?" She turned around slowly to find Sander looking up at her, knelt down on one knee. He took her hand tightly in his and kissed it. " Oh, Sander..."  
" I love you, Lily." He told her, his voice beginning to shake. " You're the most loving, compassionate, beautiful, smart, funny woman I have ever or will meet. We're going into the most important year of our lives and I want us to go into it together. I want you to know that I'll always be there to support you and to love you forever." Sander paused, but only to pull a ring case out of his pocket. " This was my Grandmother's engagement ring. Mum practically insisted you have it when I told her what I was planning. It's goblin-made; it's still not as precious as you, but it's as close as I could find." Lily gasped as Sander showed her the ring. It was beautiful. Rubies were woven into the gold, which shone, despite the dim light.  
" It's beautiful." Lily grinned. " Ask me, Sander."  
" I love you, Lily." Sander started, his hands tightened around hers. " I promise to love you, honour you, protect you and support you, forever. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"  
" Of course." Lily laughed. " Of course I'll marry you." Sander's heart roared in his chest as he slipped the ring onto Lily's ring finger, before leaping up and sweeping her up in his arms. " I love you, so much."  
" I love you, too." Lily grinned as he kissed her. She hoped, with all her hear, that he would never let her go.

" Will you come to bed?" Ginny Potter leant against the doorframe, watching her husband watch out of the window, waiting for their daughter to come in. " Lily's an adult now."  
" It's getting dark out there." Harry insisted. " There could be anyone out there."  
" Don't." Ginny warned, but made her way to the window all the same. " Besides, even if there was, Lily would be more than capable of fending off any attacks. She takes after you. Defence Against the Dark Arts runs in her blood. She's a ready made Aura." Harry nodded distractedly. " Love, you've got to learn to try and let go. She'll only push you away if you don't."  
" Once she's passed her NEWT's and she's in the Aura Office." Harry insisted again. " Then I'll let go... here they come." They both moved away from the window, taking their seats at the kitchen table as Lily and Sander burst through the door, giggling. " What are you two so happy about? It's getting late, and you've got a train to catch in the morning."  
" Dad. Mum. There's something I want to tell you." Lily smiled at them both, looking as happy as either of her parents had even seen her. " Sander proposed to me tonight. " And I said yes."


	2. Backlash

Chapter 2

Backlash

" Sander did what?" Lily frowned as her Dad stood, arms folded, glaring at Sander as though he had done something unforgivable. " He proposed to you?" " That's right." Lily raised her chin, grasping on to Sander's hand as though it was the only thing keeping her on the earth. The look on her Dad's face was scaring her. He looked furious: she'd expected him to be happy for her, rather than thunderous. " We're getting married. I hope you can be pleased for us, Dad." " Pleased?" Harry repeated, throwing his arms up. " Pleased?! Darling, I'm _ecstatic!_ My youngest daughter, engaged to be married before she's left school and without any idea what she's going to do with her life. You're barely an adult, Lu! What on earth were you thinking?"  
" Harry..." Ginny warned, placing a restraining hand on her husband's arm. The warning fell on deaf ears, and he pushed on. Ginny would never forget the look on Lily's face as he did so. " You're still a kid! You have no idea what the real world holds for you! How can you even think about wanting to get married? You have no experience!"  
" I love him!" Lily shouted back suddenly, taking the all three of them by surprise. Lily rarely got angry; when she did, there were serious consequences. Ginny rose to her feet instantly, ready to calm her daughter down. At least, that way, the house might stay in one piece. " You have no right to tell me what to do with my life! I'm a adult now, Dad, whether you like it or not."  
" It's okay, Lu." Ginny made her way over to her daughter, kissing the top of her head lightly. " We are pleased for you. But your Dad was right. It's late. You should go to bed. Both of you. We'll talk about this properly in the morning, alright? Goodnight, darling."  
" Goodnight, Mum." Lily grabbed Sander's hand and pulled him out of the kitchen, marching past her Dad without a word given to him. Ginny waited before the kids had taken themselves up the stairs and a door had slammed before she spoke.  
" Excellently handled there, dear." Ginny sat back down at the kitchen table, rubbing her hands across her forehead. She was beginning to get a headache. The more you tell Lu no, the more she'll go ahead and do it anyway. You know that. She takes after the pair of us that way. She's too stubborn for her own good."  
" You can't seriously be advocating this?" Harry started to exclaim. Lily's still a kid. We can't let her go through with this..."  
"Oh, Harry, for heavens sake!" Ginny snapped, rising from her seat. " Lily's an adult now. The days when she came running to us for advice are long gone. We need to accept that she's growing up. Being with Sander - engaged, married, whatever - is a part of that. If it's the right thing for Lily, then she should do it. We have to let her make her own mistakes, whether we agree with her or not."  
"She's just a kid..."  
"She's not one of your cases, darling. She's not black and white. She's not a problem you can solve. She's your little girl. What Sander did tonight it going to confuse her. She's going to need her Dad to help her." You need to be there for her, finished, walking over to kiss him lightly. "I'm going to bed. We need to be up early to get the kids to Kings Cross in time. Are you coming?"

Alone in her room, the reality of what had just happened was beginning to sink in. Lily sat on her bed, staring numbly at the wall, her left hand feeling so heavy. Sander proposing, and the happiness that had raced through her when he had, was a distant memory already. All that was left for her was the scorn with which her Dad had reacted. Her Dad, who had been through so much in his life that Lily might have thought he would have wanted her to be happy, to seize a moment and live it like it was her last one. Perhaps not.  
"Lu?" A light knock on her door brought her out of her reverie and made her jump. Who on earth could that be, and at this hour? She was meant to be asleep. Everyone would accept that of her. Who would bother disturbing her? Unless, of course, they'd heard the racket downstairs. Great. The last thing Lily wanted or needed was to be the subject of more family gossip. " Can I come in?"  
" I..." Before Lily could give a proper answer, Victoire walked into the room. Vic was Lily's eldest cousin, and was already married off, to her Dad's Godson, Teddy Lupin. Of course, Teddy had been a third big brother to Lily for as long as she could remember. When the two of them got married, it was like Lily had a new big sister, rather than a new elder cousin. When she'd announced she was pregnant, the family, of course, had been delighted. In theory, Lily would have a second cousin. In practice, she would have a niece (she hoped) or nephew to mollycoddle.  
" Here. I brought you a cuppa." Lily smiled her thanks and took the mug from Victoire, who smiled at her gently, resting a hand on the top of her head. " Now. Are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or do I have to guess?" Lily looked down into her tea, her eyes starting to water. " Hey. Come on, Lu. Whatever it is, you can tell me." Lily took a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves, and Victoire smiled. " Is it Sander? Has he upset you? Because if he has, I'll..." Lily shook her head, cutting her cousin's "mother-hen" act short. " Then what is it, love?"  
" It's all such a mess, Vic." Lily sniffed, sipping at her tea. " Sander hasn't done anything to upset me. He proposed." Victoire took a minute to register the information. Of course, it didn't sit comfortably with her. Her baby cousin... engaged? Already? She was in love, of course she was and the family knew that all too well, but she never would have expected this. Neither would her Aunt or Uncle: ah. Victoire nodded to herself, the pieces of the row and Lily's tears clicking into place in her mind.  
" So? Uncle Harry wasn't all that impressed?" Lily shook her head and Victoire sighed, wrapping an arm tightly around her shoulders. " Can you blame him? Lu, you're his little girl. I mean, if me and Teddy had got engaged when we were seventeen? There would have been hell to play with."  
" We aren't you and Teddy, Vic."  
" Does he know?" Victoire asked suddenly. Lily shook her head. " Right. Let me handle Teddy then, okay?" Lily nodded, suddenly realising that she hadn't factored in the reaction of her big brothers. They'd always been so protective of her, something which their Dad had encouraged since she'd joined them at Hogwarts. How would she explain this to them? How would they react? " Besides." Victoire continued. " You've got the three of them wrapped around your little finger. You'll win 'em over, easy."  
" What about Dad?"  
" Uncle Harry will come around in his own time, Lily." Victoire told her firmly. " You've got to give him some time. It's big news. Now. No more tears, okay? It's getting late. Come on, into bed." Lily would never have normally done as she was told, but she was exhausted. It had been such a long day and she'd barely even noticed. She climbed under her covers and Victoire pulled them up and over her, kissing her forehead lightly. " Goodnight, sweet-pea."  
" Night, Victoire." Lily managed as small smile as her cousin walked towards the door and, with a final wave of her wand, turned out the lights, leaving Lily with the darkness and her own thoughts for company. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Reigning In

Chapter 3  
Reigning In 

" Lily! Lily, for heaven's sake! If you aren't down here and eating breakfast in five minutes, Merlin help me!" Harry shouted up the stairs as the rest of the family ate breakfast noisily in the kitchen. It was just Lily who was left to come down; Sander had sloped down, nervously, and was now sat at the end of the table with his brother. " _Lily_!"  
" I'll go and fetch her." Victoire sighed, rising slowly from her seat, ready to cajole Lily from her room. In honesty, Victoire didn't blame the poor girl. There was no doubt that the whole family had heard the row that had gone in the kitchen the night before. In a house like The Burrow, you couldn't not hear most of what went on. Everyone had been talking about it over breakfast; everyone was in consensus.  
" No, Victoire." Her Uncle shook his head, putting a hand on her arm as she moved to go past him.  
" But Uncle..."  
" No." Victoire sighed and went to sit back down. " If Lily wants to be treated like the adult she thinks she is then she needs to start acting like one." As Victoire retook her seat, she heard footsteps on the stairs. The kitchen quietened, readying itself for what might come next. Ding, ding: round one. " Ah, and here she is." Lily moved past her Father without a word, accepting a mug of tea of her Grandma with a small smile and sitting down next to Lorcan, across from her fiancé. " Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Madam. I hope you're all packed. You now have less than no time to get yourself ready." Lily didn't answer, and instead grabbed a piece of toast from the middle of the table. It took her a couple of seconds to look up to find the whole table staring at her. Her family's looks ranged from concern to incredulity. Her cheeks flushed red, very nearly matching the colour of her hair. What was she? A laughing stock? On fire? A leper? She might as well have been, from the way they were all staring at her. She took a deep breath before putting her knife back down on the table with a little too much force. " I'm not going to combust, you know. Go on about your business!"  
" Lily..."  
" Thanks for breakfast, Grandma, but I've lost my appetite. I'll be upstairs until we're ready to go. I'll see you up there in a bit, once you've eaten?" Sander nodded when her eyes locked with his. She looked furious. When Lily got this angry, it was best to agree with her, unless you wanted something to explode. She rose to her feet, ready to leave, arms folded." Right, then. I'll be..."  
" Sit." At the head of the table, her Grandpa spoke up. Lily looked towards him, astonished. " Young lady, I am pretty sure there is nothing wrong with your hearing. Sit down." Half out of surprise, Lily dropped back into her seat, folding her arms. " Now. Lily, apologise."  
" Apologise? Grandpa..."  
" I know that you're angry, and I know that you're embarrassed. But that is no need to be so rude. So, apologise."  
" I'm sorry." Lily muttered, taking a sip of her tea. Her Grandpa smiled slightly. It amazed Arthur Weasley how much his granddaughter was like her Mother. Just as stubborn, just as opinionated, just as sure of herself. And she needed to be reigned in just as much.  
" Thank you. Right. Last night, as I'm sure we've all heard, Sander proposed to Lily." Lily's eyes snapped back towards her Grandpa. What was he doing? Was he going to condemn her publically and humiliate her, like her Dad had done? That wasn't his style; or at least, so she had thought. " I know we all have a range of opinions on the subject. But the fact is that Lily and Sander are both of age now. They're both incredibly gifted, talented and mature adults - well, most of the time." Lily smiled, flushing red again. " I would like to congratulate the two of you. Of course, it would be lovely for you to have the wedding here, but I'm sure your Mother has more than enough ideas, Sander."  
" Wait." Harry interjected, unable to believe what he was hearing from his father-in-law. " Luna knew about this?"  
" Where d'you think Sander got my engagement ring from?" Lily snapped harshly. " I'd have told you if you'd been bothered to ask me, Dad, rather than sticking the knife in."  
" Regardless." Arthur raised his voice in order to stop the two of them arguing. Both of them fell silent. " I would like to hope the rest of you would join me in congratulating Sander and Lily. And, Lu, dear." He paused, making sure he caught everyone's eye around the room. " If anyone has cause to make you feel uncomfortable or upset then you send them to me. I'm sure I can put them straight."  
" Grandpa, thank you." Lily beamed, jumping up and moving over to kiss him on the cheek. " Right. I'd best go and make sure everything's ready." Lily glanced back at Sander, who hurried to join her. There was silence in the kitchen and Arthur spoke first, rising to his feet.  
" Lily's still young, I'll admit. She's inexperienced and naïve and ridiculously opinionated. But she isn't the only one who needs reigning in within this family. I expect you all to speak to her before she goes." And that was, indeed, that.

" Hi." Rose smiled at her youngest cousin as she entered her room. Sander was sat on her bed, reading. " I'm sorry I've not had a chance to speak to you since..." Lily laughed as her cousin trailed off, looking uncomfortable. Could they not even say the words?  
" I get engaged, Rosie." Lily finished for her, giving her cousin a tight hug. " I'm not _ill_."  
" I know. I'm sorry. It's just... a lot to take in." Rose paused, busying herself by helping her cousin. " I reckon Grandpa did you a favour and a half though. That certainly stopped them all in their tracks." Lily just sighed, pushing the heavy lid of her trunk shut before plonking down on the bed next to Sander. " So? Come on! I want to hear all about it! Let me see the ring, come on... oh, wow. Lu, it's gorgeous."  
" It's perfect." Lily kissed Sander on the cheek lightly. " You must remember me to thank your Mum."  
" Darling, I'm sure you will."  
" Of course." Lily beamed, and Rose chuckled. " She'd never seen her as happy. " Al. James. Not now..."  
" Out, Scamander." Al snapped. His eyes softened when he turned to Rosie. " Sorry, kid. You, too."  
" You heard what Grandpa said." Rose warned the two of them as Sander made a show of kissing Lily. She stood up, coming to stand in front of her two cousins to glare at them. " Don't give her any grief, okay? If you want to pick on someone, then pick on a person your own size. _Sander_. I think they get it!" At that, Sander kissed Lily lightly on the forehead and walked past her brothers. Rose waited until he was out the room before addressing her youngest cousin. " I'll be downstairs. Shout if you need me."  
" I'll be absolutely fine." Lily affirmed, keeping her eyes focussed on her brothers. " Shut the door, Rosie, will you?"


End file.
